Santa Maria Della Concezione

“What you are now, we once were; what we are now, you will be.”

Creepy stuff. Although I kept thinking as I walked through it that it reminded me of a Disney Pirates of the Caribbean ride, and I kept expecting the skulls on the walls to break into pirate songs. Disney would definitely have fun with the place.

The Cemetery of the Capuchins is incredible - and incredibly creepy. Its four chambers feature amazingly detailed artwork made from the bones - skulls, femurs, pelvises, etc. —of dead Capuchin monks. In one crypt hangs the sign: “What you are now, I once was. What I am now, you will be.” It’s definitely something worth seeing.

(Photo from a postcard scanned by a visitor to the Crypt.)